tao-tao

Tagalog

Etymology

Reduplication of tao. The word does not exist in older dictionaries and may have been a recent coinage patterned from other Philippine languages, which were derived from Proto-Philippine *tau-tau (“pupil (eye)”), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau tau, from Proto-Austronesian *Cau Cau (“pupil of the eye”), reduplication of *Cau (“person”). Compare Tagalog balintataw, Ilocano tao-tao, Bikol Central alintataw / tatawo, Cebuano tawo-tawo, and Tausug tau-tau mata.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˌtaʔo ˈtaʔo/, [ˌta.ʔo ˈta.ʔo]
Rhymes: -o
Hyphenation: ta‧o-ta‧o

Noun

tao-tao (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜂᜆᜂ)

(anatomy) pupil (of the eye)
Synonyms: balintataw, inla, alikmata

Related terms

balintataw

Further reading

“tao-tao” at KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino‎, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2021

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